Love One Another

Marker Eposide

I love it when we get Eli new markers. He loves them and he goes through lots of paper as he draws. I have always referred to his drawings as "shapes." That is exactly what so many of them are, which makes them so abstract and wonderful. It is so fun telling him what I like about each "shape" when he brings his work to me.I honestly do not even encourage representational drawing much at all.





One evening I was away from home and I got back just after my husband and Eli had gotten to bed. This is what the refrigerator looked like. I stood there in awe of Eli's little gallery! I was so inspired, (and maybe a little jealous!)



This "mural" Eli drew in the corner above his bed is completely gorgeous. What awesome use of color and space. (Of course, I can't tell him I think it is beautiful and I regret that he will have to wash it off with me because those are the terms and conditions of wall writing in our house. I still love it.)











I am interested to know what these drawings mean in terms of his development. I know for his age it is not normal for so many of his drawings to be non representational. However, I feel that his use of space is advanced. I am going to look into this more and hopefully discover more about my son's unique abilities.

Personal Hair Dresser

Eli had a wonderful weekend. That is not to say that we did not have our moments. (I think when I woke up to the bathroom flooding this morning was my favorite part of those moments. Not. What can I say? I guess he will be a five year old boy.)

Eli has just been so happy. His tummy has shown no signs of bloating. He feels well, and we can see it in is smile. Today in church he sat on my lap and pretended to be my hairdresser, whispering to me about color choices, giving me a little trim around the bottom edges, and I think he said something about staples and glue. (!) Good thing it was pretend!

After these last few years of working on healing his gut, I think we may be at a good place now. That is not to say that he does not have bloaty days. There are times when we are not careful enough about his diet, (meaning that we have had times when we don't realize that too much GF yeast bread would make his belly bloat, and other similar instances.) The true miracle is that his belly will go back to normal on it's own in time when we go back to normal diet. I can't explain how huge this is. I feel such gratitude that I can't express.

On Saturday a man we met at the park said to us, "He is just a bundle of love, isn't he?" He just found Eli so very friendly and sweet. I hope I remember that forever.

Garden Veggie Zucchini Casserole

So much zucchini! I have even let the squash bugs have at it these last few weeks, and we still have so much. Here is dinner idea that I have been using throughout this plentiful season.

It all started with some ideas I gleaned from "The Classic Zucchini Cookbook" by Nancy Ralston, Marynor Jordan, and Andrea Chesman. In this book they describe how to make "Born again Zucchini." For this dish I use this same idea, also incorporating potatoes. I also found some great tips on baking time.

There are no measurements. I never measure when I make this.

First, slice thinly clean potatoes, zucchini (small to medium size,) white or yellow onions, and tomatoes.

Place the zucchini and potatoes in a bowl, toss in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Let this sit for 15-30 minutes, and afterward drain and blot dry with towel. Now you have "Born Again Zucchini," (and potatoes,) with less water in the squash, it is much more recipe ready.

Next, stir and coat pieces in a prepared tomato based sauce. This is where you can really customize to your own taste. Personally, I start with a pizza sauce base, and start stirring things in. Here are some ideas I like to add:

minced garlic
finely grated cheese (I use soy)
dried sweet basil leaves
salt
pepper

Stack the coated veggies in glass pan, adding here and there a slice of tomato and onion. Here is a picture of mine all ready to go for the oven.



I like to spoon whatever sauce is left over the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees. The trick I have learned is that the typical 45 minutes to 1 hour used for typical like dishes is not enough for this special veggie dish. An additional 45 minutes or so is needed to really caramelize the veggies. (Always keep an eye on the oven, of course!)

I have even made this in a dutch oven outside my back door with tasty results. :)

Greenwear

My journey with autism in my family has taught me to look at earth conservation in a new light. I believe that many of our current epidemics that effect our children, (such as severe allergies, asthma, and autism,) are brought upon us by the environment, or our lack of care for it.

Here are some creations of mine that I have been running around town in over the summer. These are both made out of recycled fabrics. Now that the summer is sadly over, I just need to make me some recycled goodness for cooler weather. :)


This one I call my hippie skirt. It is made from old flare jeans and linens.



This skirt has been so fun and cool to wear in hot weather. It is made from old t-shirts and cotton jersey linens.

The Bakery and Autism

I think that parents of autistic children will all agree that life gets a pretty through overhaul in the early years after your child's diagnosis. I was just reflecting on this as I was washing dishes, which pile up so quick due to all the GF/CF cooking done in our house.

One marker of these drastic changes that I have identified with me personally has to do with my job: bakery clerk. I have held several different positions in several different bakeries since I started as a sophomore in college ten years ago. It has been my job while my husband and I have been going to school and raising our son. Most frequently, I have been on the night crew, because those have been the hours I have been available. We manage product, provide customer service, and most of all, we clean. Boy, do we clean. I currently this position for the time being.

When I meet someone new and I mention my job for the first time, I regularly get asked, "So, do you decorate the cakes?" This occurs almost without fail. I do not blame them one bit. It is that bit of nostalgia that goes with special custom cakes. Weddings, birthdays, bridal/baby showers, etc. We celebrate them all with cakes.

I do know how to decorate. My college degree is in art, and so the creative element has always had a draw for me and I have made it my business to know how. However, being a cake decorator is a position I have never held. My availability for my job with college and family has never allowed it. I used to think that the circumstance was really one of those "too bad" things. I used to really want to be a decorator.

I have done many, many custom cakes for people over the years in my job. I have pictures of cakes I have made for family members. One summer I made two wedding cakes, one for my sister, and one for my sister-in-law. I even remember once watching a video on youtube of someone using fondant to ice a cake. The next day there was a fondant wedding cake order to do, and the decorator needed help, and so with my new knowledge I got to help her. I could not have been prouder.

Interestingly enough, I have recently found that my feelings on the subject have changed a great deal. It is all a direct result of all the changes these early years of my child's diagnoses has had. When I think about being a decorator and spending all that time with the cakes, I think, "Ice hunks of gluten with gobs of trans-fat? No thank you!"

The Growing Experience

My husband and I decided that this year we were going to grow a garden if possible, for several reasons. First, we wanted wholesome veggies that we know the source of. We wanted to learn to be more self-sufficient, and we thought that learning to do this kind of work together as a family would be great for all of us.
The fresh, wholesome veggies have been great. It makes us feel so good to feed this food to our little son because we know that these veggies we grow are not adding to any toxin burdens he has. Oh, and our garden is not done. We are are looking forward to more, and looking forward to putting some up.




We were given a little lot next to our apartment to use for the season. We are so grateful! This garden was started from seed. The first picture was taken afew weeks or so after planting. The picture of Eli and his grandma was taken just last week. Notice our reuse of shopping bags... we have tied some to the tomato cages in hopes of scaring the deer away who have discovered our garden. :)